Promoting Spain Online – with ‘Spain Addicts’

Spain has launched the latest digital communications campaign aimed at international tourists. It will use the experiences of those who have visited Spain to promote the country’s image internationally – along with online campaigns by numerous Spanish destinations.

The campaign has two parts. The first is an Internet-based campaign to reinforce the existing message of ‘I need Spain’. The advertising material has been adapted for online use to cover the needs of each market in real time, allowing for segmentation by product and by audience.

More than 130 online campaigns will be launched this year by Spanish destinations, which are carried out through agreementswith tour operators, airlines and other public administrations.

The second part focuses on making the ‘I need Spain’ message tangible by using an advantage very few countries have: while Spain is in fourth place in the world for the number of tourists it attracts, and for the volume of their spend, it is in first place when it comes to repeat visits.

Of the 53 million foreign tourists who visit Spain, 85% come back. This is evident in social networks, and is something the new campaign proposes to capitalise on by inviting fans of Spain to become online ‘Spain Addicts’. This will allow them to become ambassadors for Spanish tourism and attract new visitors by talking about their own personal experiences. The www.ineedspain.com platform will encourage them to share their stories, their photos and theirvideos.

In order to attract a worldwide audience, a dedicated YouTube channel has been created, as well as profiles on Facebook and Twitter, branding on videogames, and apps for iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

It is hoped to reach 400 million users in over 40 countries using this global communications strategy. The campaign will also be promoted through www.spain.info, which already attracts eight million annual visitors, and through which Turespaña already has almost 400,000 followers on Facebook and over 24,000 on Twitter.